Michael John Neill
Genealogy Blog Update-- 16 October 2015

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HIGHLIGHTS SINCE LAST TIME: 
 
Data, Data Everywhere and Not a Thought to Think 
Are we really overwhelmed with data?  
 
A letter written in the 1880s brings many questions to mind.   
 
Should you make a list of what name you use for what person?

Don't Let Ancestry.com Pick the Names for You 
Ancestry.com's transcription of an ELCA congregation's records confuses middle and last names.

My Great-grandpa was the Veteran's Preacher
 
A Revolutionary War pension mentions the great-grandson of the preacher who married the veteran.

Ancestry.com apparently dreamed up the name of this ship in their database--always check the actual manifest.

Reading the entire file indicated that a man who said he was naturalized actually wasn't.


"
Citation of the Week
 Making A Statement for Emmar

Cynthia Nevill, statement, 27 November 1918, Emmar Osenbaugh, widow's pension application no. 772,537; service of John Osenbaugh (Pvt. Co. H, 7th Ill., Inf., Civil War); Case Files of Approved Pension Applications, 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C..

 
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Casefile Clues
My indepth how-to newsletter in PDF format is back! 

There is more information on Casefile Clues on our blog. Casefile Clues as a PDF file and is more indepth than our less formal blog posts. 52 issues can be had for $20.
They Wrote that How?
Could you read this name?
It is Mary Brown from a mid-18th century Massachusetts probate. 

Picture of the Week


 
Are you including "why" you think something along with your photograph?
New Class


US Land
Records
Learn about and explore United States 
Land records in this 5 session online course. 

Offered for the first time this October. Registration is limited.


Details here!

 

Tombstone of the Week
 
Stone of Thomas C Rampley, Buckeye Cemetery, Walker Township, Hancock County, Iloinois
O is for...
organize. When was the last time you organized information in a different way? Maybe your brick wall would come be cracked a little if you organized your information in a different way.